Mom's shadow: structure-from-motion in newly hatched chicks as revealed by an imprinting procedure.
The ability to recognize three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional (2-D) displays was investigated in domestic chicks, focusing on the role of the object's motion. In Experiment 1 newly hatched chicks, imprinted on a three-dimensional (3-D) object, were allowed to choose between the shadows of the familiar object and of an object never seen before. In Experiments 2 and 3 random-dot displays were used to produce the perception of a solid shape only when set in motion. Overall, the results showed that domestic chicks were able to recognize familiar shapes from 2-D motion stimuli. It is likely that similar general mechanisms underlying the perception of structure-from-motion and the extraction of 3-D information are shared by humans and animals. The present data shows that they occur similarly in birds as known for mammals, two separate vertebrate classes; this possibly indicates a common phylogenetic origin of these processes.
Mascalzoni
Elena
E
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padua, Italy. elena.mascalzoni@unipd.it
Regolin
Lucia
L
Vallortigara
Giorgio
G
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002645:Chickens; D003867:Depth Perception; D005556:Form Perception; D007173:Imprinting, Psychological; D009039:Motion Perception; D010466:Perceptual Closure